As the population ages, cardiovascular diseases have surpassed cancer as number one threat to human health. Hypertension, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and arteriosclerosis are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and their damages to target organs have been confirmed by large-scale epidemiological investigations. A large number of studies have found that the reduction of the body's antioxidant capacity, oxidation and anti-oxidation imbalance, and excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.
Hydroxytyrosol (4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,2-benzenediol; compound of formula II) (CAS:10597-60-1) is a phenylethanoid, a type of phenolic phytochemical with antioxidant properties in vitro. In nature, hydroxytyrosol is found in olive leaf and olive oil, in the form of its elenolic acid ester oleuropein and, especially after degradation, in its plain form.

Shikimic acid ((3R,4S,5R)-3,4,5-Trihydroxycyclohex-1-enecarboxylic acid; compound of formula III) (CAS: 138-59-0) is present in the dried ripe fruit of the Magnoliaceae. Shikimic acid has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects by affecting arachidonic acid metabolism, inhibiting platelet aggregation, arterial and venous thrombosis, and cerebral thrombosis, and can be used as an intermediate for antiviral and anticancer drugs.
